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Honors Theses

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The Influence Of Normative Feedback On Stigma Of Mental Health, Carly A. Taylor Jan 2015

The Influence Of Normative Feedback On Stigma Of Mental Health, Carly A. Taylor

Honors Theses

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI; 2012) reports that the greatest barrier preventing college students from seeking help for a mental illness is stigma. Previous research has yet to develop an effective stigma reduction intervention targeting college students.Therefore, the purpose of the following research was to examine whether the administration of personalized normative feedback (PNF) could reduce personal stigma and correct the perception that others stigmatize mental illness. It was hypothesized that participants at baseline would expect others to hold more stigmatizing views compared to themselves. In order to correct this misperception and reduce stigma, half of the participants …

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Sociological Effects Of Wind Farms In Maine, Jeanne E. Barthold, Jeanne Barthold Jan 2015

Sociological Effects Of Wind Farms In Maine, Jeanne E. Barthold, Jeanne Barthold

Honors Theses

Renewable Energy is an extremely important topic in today's energy discussions. In Maine, with the motivation of Governor Baldacci, there was a rapid push towards utilizing wind energy, starting with the Wind Energy Act in 2008. While the theory of wind farms and wind energy seems intelligent at a first glance, it is not an energy source that lacks issues. Many of the Maine wind farms constructed in the last ten years have had a large impact on human health, altered the beauty of Maine, created a change in wildlife habitats, and completely torn apart communities. Every new energy source …

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The Importance Of Fitting In: Drinker Status, Social Inclusion, And Well-Being In College Students, Molly B. Hodgkins Jan 2015

The Importance Of Fitting In: Drinker Status, Social Inclusion, And Well-Being In College Students, Molly B. Hodgkins

Honors Theses

These three studies examined the relationship between drinker status, well-being, and social inclusion in a college population, specifically seeking to discover why and how drinkers are happier than abstainers. In the first study, an existing longitudinal data set was used to compare the happiness of drinkers and non-drinkers, as well as ascertain if year in school was a factor. Drinkers were significantly happier than non-drinkers upon completion of their first semester freshman year, but this difference was not significant when the students were assessed one year later. Study 2 extended Study 1 by examining social factors as potential mediators of …

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Assessing The Carbon Impacts Of Colby College’S Biomass Plant, Alice Hotopp Jan 2015

Assessing The Carbon Impacts Of Colby College’S Biomass Plant, Alice Hotopp

Honors Theses

Biomass energy plants are considered to be carbon neutral systems under some definitions. However, this concept of carbon neutrality needs to be rethought in order to understand the true carbon impact of biomass plants upon global climate change. A biomass plant’s wood source, the extent to which the biomass plant emits carbon dioxide, and the timescale over which the biomass plant emits carbon should all be taken into account. In this study, I consider the Colby College biomass plant’s role in carbon cycling. Colby’s Physical Plant Department provided me with information on how much carbon (tons of woodchips) is used …

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Nurturing Environmental Literacy At Colby College: Higher Education And The Environmental Crisis, Molly Nash Jan 2015

Nurturing Environmental Literacy At Colby College: Higher Education And The Environmental Crisis, Molly Nash

Honors Theses

The environmental crisis will affect all people, career paths, and academic disciplines. Acknowledging this, does higher education have an obligation to educate all students for environmental literacy (EL)? This study reviews literature on how to effectively assess and implement EL initiatives and highlights how other colleges successfully nurture EL in all students. This study also uses quantitative and qualitative survey measures to understand student levels of EL at Colby College and to highlight specific programming or curriculum that leads to high EL levels in students. Findings include significantly different EL scores between environmental studies student respondents and respondents in all …

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The Dark Side Of Volunteering : When Helping Might Hurt, Emily Morse Jan 2015

The Dark Side Of Volunteering : When Helping Might Hurt, Emily Morse

Honors Theses

This paper examines the relationship between implicit theories of intelligence and social dominance orientation (SDO) in the context of volunteering. While there is still little research on the subject, it has been shown that un- and undertrained volunteers often do more harm than good in the community. Community-based learning courses that send students out into vulnerable communities are common at most colleges and universities today; so examining the reasons why students volunteer as well as how effective they believe volunteering to be is important in order to help them avoid causing harm to vulnerable populations. Survey data from 261 college …

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Information Source, Religiosity, And Attitude Change Toward Corporal Punishment, Emilie Fennimore Jan 2015

Information Source, Religiosity, And Attitude Change Toward Corporal Punishment, Emilie Fennimore

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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From Prisons To Asylums, And Back : Mental Health Policy In The Age Of Neoliberalism, Michele Martin Jan 2015

From Prisons To Asylums, And Back : Mental Health Policy In The Age Of Neoliberalism, Michele Martin

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to explain why rates of severe mental illness in the criminal justice system have risen steadily throughout the past three decades, despite an increasing acknowledgement of the importance of mental health to overall health. Legislative, scientific, and societal advances have aimed at increasing access to and bolstering the quality of mental health care. Yet, the large numbers of severely mentally ill persons residing in the criminal justice system imply care in the community is not adequately serving their needs, or that, for whatever reason, they are not seeking care. I begin my analysis by considering mental health …

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Is Positive Affect A Mediator Of The Association Between Emerging Adults' Relationship Quality With Mothers And Friendship Quality?, Nil Horoz Jan 2015

Is Positive Affect A Mediator Of The Association Between Emerging Adults' Relationship Quality With Mothers And Friendship Quality?, Nil Horoz

Honors Theses

The present study aimed to examine positive affect, an index of psychological well-being, as a mediator of the association between relationship with mothers and samesex friendship quality among emerging adults. Participants (N=394) were recruited from two small liberal arts colleges on the east coast of the United States. To be included in the study, participants needed to be the same sex, attend the same university and have been friends for at least four months. I hypothesized that positive affect was one possible pathway through which relationship with mothers predict same-sex friendship quality among emerging adults. Results replicated previous research and …

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In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death : Suicide Coverage In The South During The Civil War Era, India Miller Jan 2015

In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death : Suicide Coverage In The South During The Civil War Era, India Miller

Honors Theses

The Civil War cast a shadow of despair over the divided nation as it left an estimated 620,000 men—roughly 2% of the population—dead on American soil, killed by American hands. Death and the Civil War are two subjects that are synonymous with one another; it is impossible to write on the war without commenting on its immense number of casualties. That said, relatively little is known about suicides behind the front lines. Only weeks after the end of the Civil War, Virginian Edmund Ruffin, a proud supporter of the Confederacy, lifted his rifle, placed the muzzle in his mouth and …

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Friendship Quality And Personality As Predictors Of Psychological Well-Being In Emerging Adults, Emma Gleckel Jan 2015

Friendship Quality And Personality As Predictors Of Psychological Well-Being In Emerging Adults, Emma Gleckel

Honors Theses

The present study investigated the relationship between personality, friendship quality, and wellbeing, among 394 emerging adults. The aim of the study was to examine whether friendship quality contributed to aspects of well-being (e.g. happiness, belongingness, and anxiety), when controlling for personality. Results showed that personality dimensions accounted for a significant amount of variance in each aspect of well-being. Moreover, friendship quality predicted happiness, belongingness, and anxiety, above and beyond the influence of personality. Results also revealed that only positive friendship features predicted variance in happiness and belongingness, whereas only negative friendship features predicted variance in anxiety. Findings indicate the importance …

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Shifting Perceptions : Exploring With The Rubber Hand Illusion, Avery Harrison Jan 2015

Shifting Perceptions : Exploring With The Rubber Hand Illusion, Avery Harrison

Honors Theses

In two experiments, we explored the boundary conditions for evoking the rubber hand illusion (RHI). In the first study, we hypothesized that we could elicit more vivid RHI experiences using personal cell phones than using wooden blocks as external objects because we interact with our phones and they are familiar objects. The cell phone condition elicited a weak illusory experience but it did not significantly differ from the wooden block condition. In the second study, we hypothesized that manipulating the size of rubber hands used for the illusion would affect size estimates of objects. Participants who experienced a strong RHI …

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Reproductive Health Care Resources & Decision Making For Women In A "Delivery Desert" In Maine, Gianna C. Dejoy Jan 2015

Reproductive Health Care Resources & Decision Making For Women In A "Delivery Desert" In Maine, Gianna C. Dejoy

Honors Theses

This case study examines the reproductive health care resources available to women living in a “delivery desert” context in Maine, as well as the personal and cultural factors that influence their reproductive health behaviors. Through ethnographic methodology and in-depth interviews, I demonstrate how cultural influences converge with issues of quality health care accessibility to affect reproductive health outcomes. The island is isolated from reliable, quality biomedical care, with the nearest hospital offering labor and delivery services located over an hour’s drive away. I define this situation as a “delivery desert”, describing the phenomenon of centralizing maternity care which endangers pregnant …

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Implicit Theories Of Self-Regulation Among Adults With Adhd, Lauren Oddo Jan 2015

Implicit Theories Of Self-Regulation Among Adults With Adhd, Lauren Oddo

Honors Theses

Implicit theories of self-regulation were examined among adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in order to determine whether mindsets about self- regulation affect goal-attainment in the context of a self-regulation disorder. We conducted two studies in an effort to develop a deeper understanding of goal-related impairment among adults with ADHD. Study 1 was an exploratory study wherein we investigated general correlations between implicit theories of self-regulation, avoidance, negative emotions, and functional impairment in a community sample of adults with ADHD. Study 2 examined the incremental validity of implicit theories. In Study 2 we also examined whether implicit theories of self- …

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In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death : Suicide Coverage In The South During The Civil War Era, India Miller Jan 2015

In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death : Suicide Coverage In The South During The Civil War Era, India Miller

Honors Theses

The Civil War cast a shadow of despair over the divided nation as it left an estimated 620,000 men—roughly 2% of the population—dead on American soil, killed by American hands. Death and the Civil War are two subjects that are synonymous with one another; it is impossible to write on the war without commenting on its immense number of casualties. That said, relatively little is known about suicides behind the front lines.

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Boss Lady: How Female Chinese Managers Succeed In China's Guanxi System, Charles Palmer Withers Jan 2015

Boss Lady: How Female Chinese Managers Succeed In China's Guanxi System, Charles Palmer Withers

Honors Theses

This project examines how female Chinese managers within China's traditionally male-dominated, guanxi-related private sector are coming into their own as leaders of the new Chinese economy. In this project, guanxi (关系) is defined as interpersonal relations and connections and research hinges around investigating how female Chinese managers use, or do not use, guanxi in their careers and personal lives. After establishing a background of preexisting scholarship, this project implements a Case Study Analysis chapter on three self made female entrepreneurs followed by an Interview Analysis chapter conducted with four female managers that took place in May, 2014. The goal of …

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A Tapestry Of War: Three Veterans' Stories, Clancy Lane Smith Jan 2015

A Tapestry Of War: Three Veterans' Stories, Clancy Lane Smith

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to record and preserve the memories of American war veterans living in the Oxford area. The researcher interviewed local veterans and recorded their recollections in a narrative way, similar to how a feature story is written for publication in a newspaper or magazine. The results of this project demonstrate the stark contrast in a veterans' experiences based on differences in background, faith, family and decision-making. The stories are written so that they might be passed on to future generations.

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Occupational Fraud: A Survey, Elizabeth Carroll Jan 2015

Occupational Fraud: A Survey, Elizabeth Carroll

Honors Theses

This paper examines the issue of occupation fraud in today's corporations. It provides an overview of the types of occupational fraud and how they usually occur. This paper also explains the attributes of the typical fraudster and describes warning signs that management should look out for in their company. It analyzes the regulations and polices put into place to combat the growing issue of fraud. It also provides a look at cyber-fraud, which is an increasing problem due to society's reliance on technology. It explains why fraud prevention is so important in corporations, whether small or large, and emphasizes the …

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Communication Sciences And Disorders (Csd) Graduate Students' Preparedness To Work With Individuals Who Are Bilingual, Elizabeth M. Harbaugh Jan 2015

Communication Sciences And Disorders (Csd) Graduate Students' Preparedness To Work With Individuals Who Are Bilingual, Elizabeth M. Harbaugh

Honors Theses

This study addresses the overall competence of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) graduate students working with individuals who are bilingual. It examined the different CSD graduate programs in the United States and identified key variables that lead to students' preparedness. The author surveyed 238 individuals, consisting of first and second year graduate students and individuals working in their clinical fellowship from 30 different graduate programs. The data were collected from both Mississippi and the total population and were compared as an example of possible future research pertaining to SLP preparedness needed when working with individuals who are bilingual. The results …

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Spatial Variation Of Bacterial Communities On The Leaves Of Southern Magnolia Trees, Heather L. Valdin Jan 2015

Spatial Variation Of Bacterial Communities On The Leaves Of Southern Magnolia Trees, Heather L. Valdin

Honors Theses

Bacteria are found in almost all environments on earth, including on the surface of other living things. Bacteria that exist on the leaves of plants (the phyllosphere) are of interest because of the potentially harsh nature of the environment they inhabit, and of applied interest. Although there has been a substantial amount of research in phyllosphere microbiology, few studies have examined the effect of spatial variation on phyllosphere community composition. This project investigated the effect of spatial variation on the bacterial communities living on the surface of Magnolia grandiflora leaves. Following DNA extraction, next generation sequencing of 16S rRNA gene …

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The Evolution Of Chinese Students' Motivations To Study Abroad In The U.S., Alison Elizabeth Bartel Jan 2015

The Evolution Of Chinese Students' Motivations To Study Abroad In The U.S., Alison Elizabeth Bartel

Honors Theses

Through interviews conducted in Nanjing, China during Fall 2014, this thesis sought to examine Chinese students' motivations to study abroad in the U.S. and how those motivations have changed over time in the context of Chinese and U.S. policy since reform and opening. Research showed that since 1979, Chinese students have more freedom of choice and economic means to expand their study abroad opportunities. Until now, the United States has been Chinese students' primary destination of choice, but according to modern-day Chinese college students, other similarly developed countries are beginning to draw more and more Chinese students, who may choose …

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Ramped Soapbox, Alyssa Marie Radtke Jan 2015

Ramped Soapbox, Alyssa Marie Radtke

Honors Theses

This is a collection of mostly autobiographical disability poetry.

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The Effect Of A Neurotoxic Dose Of Methamphetamine On Attention And Response Learning In The Rat, Anja Kremer Jan 2015

The Effect Of A Neurotoxic Dose Of Methamphetamine On Attention And Response Learning In The Rat, Anja Kremer

Honors Theses

High doses of methamphetamine (neurotoxic doses) have been shown to have an effect on both attention and response learning. In previous literature, meth rats were found to have higher reaction times, and therefore, it has been concluded that meth may cause a deficit in response learning. Our study, using modal initiation time as a measure of response learning, found no effects of methamphetamine or training condition on mode. Studies have also shown positively skewed reaction time distributions, which have been defined as attentional lapses. Our experiment used DevMode to measure these lapses. Although meth did not, training condition did have …

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I Don't Need To Read, I'M Gonna Play Football: Male Collegiate Athletes' Perception Of Reading, Anna Kathryn Suggs Jan 2015

I Don't Need To Read, I'M Gonna Play Football: Male Collegiate Athletes' Perception Of Reading, Anna Kathryn Suggs

Honors Theses

My research is comprised of data collected from surveys and interviews to gain a better understanding of how college athletes, especially those from low-income backgrounds, perceive their past experience with reading. I surveyed ninety-three freshmen male athletes. I then narrowed my research to focus specifically on male freshmen athletes from all sports and football players of all years, since football has the highest percentage of athletes from low-income backgrounds. I then interviewed six student athletes on the football team. I found that whether or not a student athlete is read to as a child, enjoyed reading as a child, and …

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Secondary Metabolites Isolated From Perovskia Atriplicifolia And Their In Vitro Binding Affinity For Human Opioid And Cannabinoid Receptors, Ashli Fitzpatrick Jan 2015

Secondary Metabolites Isolated From Perovskia Atriplicifolia And Their In Vitro Binding Affinity For Human Opioid And Cannabinoid Receptors, Ashli Fitzpatrick

Honors Theses

Plants and their natural products have been utilized for thousands of years in the treatment of many human diseases. Because of their structural diversity, natural products are ideal lead compounds for drug development. In this thesis, the natural products of the plant Perovskia atriplicifolia were investigated, specifically their in vitro binding affinity to receptors in opioid and cannabinoid classes. Extracts that demonstrated good selective opioid and cannabinoid receptor binding were subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation. Four active compounds were identified from the crude extract in Perovskia atriplicifolia: 1) 5-hydroxy-3',4',6,7-tetramethoxy flavone, 2) 5,7-dihydroxy-3',4',6,-trimethoxy flavone, 3) 5-hydroxy-4',6,7-trimethoxy flavone, and 4) 5,7-dihydroxy-4',6,-dimethoxy flavone. Each …

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That Awkward Moment When...: An Explanation Of How Britain Made The Modern Arab World Homophobic, Sequareah Sayles Jan 2015

That Awkward Moment When...: An Explanation Of How Britain Made The Modern Arab World Homophobic, Sequareah Sayles

Honors Theses

It is well documented that over the last decade, LGB individuals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have become more subjected to increased harassment, abuse and, perhaps, even torture at the hands of police officials. What is also well documented, but rarely mentioned is the prominence of homosexuality and its suggested acceptance in literature during the Islamic Golden Age (622-1258). So, what happened? Using an interdisciplinary approach, this thesis sheds light on the reasons for the attitudinal change regarding homosexuality between the Islamic Golden Age and contemporary Islamic states in the MENA region after 1918. These are …

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The Doctor/Patient Relationship In End-Of-Life Care: A Game Theoretic Model, Stephan A. Castellanos Jan 2015

The Doctor/Patient Relationship In End-Of-Life Care: A Game Theoretic Model, Stephan A. Castellanos

Honors Theses

End-of-life care is a sensitive subject because it deals with life and death, as well as dealing with the nature of that death. In its most basic form, end-of-life care can be divided into two distinct pathways: aggressive treatment and methods, or palliative treatment and care. This paper explores the history surrounding these two routes and the implications that surround them. A review of the literature reveals that in many cases palliative care can increase in quality-of-life. An important part of the decision between aggressive and palliative care are the patient's and the doctor's feelings towards certain aspects of end-of-life …

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Millennial Specific Techniques For Nonprofit Marketing Communications: A Messaging Study For World Relief, Taylor M. Davenport Jan 2015

Millennial Specific Techniques For Nonprofit Marketing Communications: A Messaging Study For World Relief, Taylor M. Davenport

Honors Theses

Nonprofit organizations are quickly catching up to for profit companies in their marketing communications endeavors. World Relief, a faith-based nonprofit organization that strives to empower the vulnerable, is one of those organizations. While they have made huge strides in recent years, they are missing the mark when it comes to reaching millennials. This thesis sought to research effective millennial specific messaging techniques and implement an integrated marketing communications (IMC) campaign using the findings. This thesis compiles research on millennials from the Pew Research Center and other sources as a background for primary research. A survey and focus group were conducted …

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Fueling The Dragon's Fire: China's Coal Policy, Taylor Malcolm Jan 2015

Fueling The Dragon's Fire: China's Coal Policy, Taylor Malcolm

Honors Theses

The last few decades in China have seen unprecedented economic growth. This growth, though good for the economy, has had extreme consequences on the health of Chinese citizens as well as the environment as a whole. A major factor of this increased pollution is the country's high consumption of coal, which has rarely comprised less than 70 percent of the country's energy during the past 50 years. Though the media portrays a China which is making enormous strides in the field of environmental protection, the energy and environmental policies of the country suggest that it will continue using large amounts …

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Women Hold Up Half The Internet: Examining The Political Identities Of Chinese Women Bloggers, Taylor Brack Jan 2015

Women Hold Up Half The Internet: Examining The Political Identities Of Chinese Women Bloggers, Taylor Brack

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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